In the wake of Hurricane Helene, WD Williams Elementary Media Specialist/ Librarian Kassandra Cumming took action to support families displaced by the disaster. With many of them asking for children’s books despite losing homes and belongings, she ​contacted us asking for help.

“We are trying to put books into the hands of our kiddos who are having a tough time right now,” she said. “They are asking for books, filling my heart with joy and my eyes with tears.” 

Her desire to give books to displaced families inspired us to organize a book drive.​ Almost simultaneously,  Heather Childress from Weaverville Primary School and Kyley Byrd​, a BeLoved Asheville volunteer, ​asked us for books for the school and the “buckets of love” distributed among the displaced families living in shelters.

​Since our office was closed, we partnered with The Whale WAVL so they could receive the books. We received hundreds of books that went to Beloved Asheville, Leaf Global Arts, Weaverville Primary School, and Jones Elementary.

Library IQ learned about the drive, contacted us, and offered to donate as many books to W.D. Williams Elementary as needed. ​ The school received 100 books per grade level!

This was an excellent opportunity to build and deepen relationships with local businesses and organizations: The Whale WAVL, Pages for a Fresh Start, The Venue Asheville, Library IQ, local author Constance Lombardo, and BeLoved Asheville. They all played a role in collecting, receiving, and distributing donations.

Also, the Youth Literacy Program interns and our non-tutoring volunteer, Becky, helped with the book distribution!

​We’re so grateful for this community effort and to everyone who donated books!

Our community has been devastated by Hurricane Helene, and our students are among those most affected. For those already struggling with low literacy and language barriers, the path to recovery seems even more daunting.  These are the challenges our students face every day. Do you want to help? You can become a volunteer tutor or donate. Thank you!

We had another fantastic edition of Authors for Literacy, our signature fundraising event. It was a pleasure to host New York Times bestselling author Lisa See! We are so grateful for everyone who came to support Literacy Together’s mission of changing lives and communities through the power of literacy. 

Special thanks to our adult learners Fernanda (ESOL) and Karima (Adult Literacy), who, accompanied by their incredible tutors, moved us to tears with their courageous, inspiring, funny testimonials.

Thank you, Jesse Kitt Photography, for the beautiful photos, and thank you to Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe for being there!

Watch this video highlighting the most touching moments of the evening. Thank you to Andrew Crespo for this beautiful work. Enjoy!  

To our sponsors: we couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you! Here is our staff; we love what we do, and it shows! 😍

We had a fantastic evening! Silas’ keynote was terrific, and we are so happy we met him in person! So here he’s with some board members. 

In this photo, our ESOL student Dulce is holding author Silas House’s book, and he’s holding Dulce’s first story. Dulce spoke to the audience and shared her experience as a student and her intention to be a writer and a motivational speaker.

There is still time to contribute to our Fund-A-Need auction. You can donate HERE.

 Thank you to everyone who came. We appreciate you! See the highlights of the night generously taken by Jesse Kitt, Jesse Kitt Photography.

Marilyn Cortes and Silas House

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Authors for Literacy 2022 was a triumph! Finally, after several delays and date changes, we could enjoy an evening with Delia Owens. Her keynote was terrific!

She also spent time doing a Q&A and signed copies of Where the Crawdads sing for folks. 

The Fund-A-Need auction raised over $37,000!  If you were there, THANK YOU! There is still time to contribute!

You can see more photos of the event on this page or our Facebook account.   Thank you, Jesse, from Photo KIt Photography, for doing a fantastic job.   Thank you for helping us fulfill our mission to transform lives and communities through the power of literacy and our vision of a just and equitable community in which literacy is accessible and achievable by all!

Our core values

Lifelong Learning

• We believe the pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong journey for our students, tutors, staff, board, and community.
• We offer transformative learning experiences to people of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities.

Individual Dignity

• We believe individuals have the power to reach their own potential through teaching, learning, and community involvement. 
• We trust and believe in our students when they share their experiences, goals, insights, and vision. 
• We co-create learning environments where the dignity, worth, and complexity of each person is honored. 

Equity and Justice

• We believe access to lifelong quality education is the cornerstone of a more just and equitable society.
• We commit to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our organization and recognize that racism is a major barrier to achieving a community where literacy is accessible to all. 
• We serve as equal partners with students, tutors, staff, and board to help students reach their goals.

Leadership and Innovation

• We respond to a changing landscape, creating new pathways for groups and individuals to reach their full potential. 
• We initiate collaboration in a nonpartisan manner to engage the community in advocating for the change required to create a more literate Buncombe County.
• We commit to the highest standards of professionalism, honesty, and integrity in all individual, business, and community interactions.

What an incredible night with author Daniel Wallace. He gave a wonderful talk, including a self-deprecating reading from some of his early writing. 

See the highlights of the night generously taken by Jesse Kitt, Jesse Kitt Photography.